Demon Copperhead Themes

Demon Copperhead shows how large institutions in the Appalachian region, including the coal industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and even the foster care system, exploit and overpower individual people like Demon, taking away their agency and their ability to control the trajectory of their own lives. Mr. Armstrong, one of Demon’s teachers, explains to Demon that coal companies structured their industry so that they owned the churches people attended, the schools their children went…

In the novel, Demon often describes himself as one of the “no-toucher” kinds of people. He takes the term from Mr. Ghali’s description of growing up in India as a Dalit, once known as an “untouchable,” a member of the lowest caste in India. In India, the caste system divides Hindu people into a hierarchy of five groups, or castes, with privileges reserved for those in the highest caste, while people in the lowest…

Demon Copperhead is, at its core, a coming-of-age story. In particular, it focuses on how Demon’s exposure to toxic masculinity influences him over the course of his formative years. Stoner, Mom’s boyfriend when Demon was growing up, forbids Demon from spending time with Demon’s friend Maggot because he thinks Maggot is gay. He also feels entitled to abuse Mom because he is a man and she is a woman. While Demon hates…

Throughout the novel, Demon struggles to find a sense of community and belonging. After Demon’s mom dies, he feels isolated and abandoned. As he is shuffled from foster home to foster home, he tries to find belonging with Fast Forward, Tommy, and Swap-Out, other boys who live in one of his foster homes. Later, when Demon goes to live with Coach and Angus, he searches for belonging on the football field. When…